The Black Parade
by IWasTheTurkey
Summary: When Zim's Pak was stolen by Dib he finds life isn't exactly the way the Tallest planned for him. He falls in love, experiences loss, and contracts cancer. Songfic based on The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. ZAGR
1. The End

Wow, I dunno what to say, I've been reading these fanfics for a while now and I've always wanted to write my own, and now I am. This is my first ever(as I'm sure you can tell) and I'm not quite sure how this works. Any way this is my fanfic, or rather songfic or maybe even song/fanfic about Invader Zim loosely based on The Black Parade my My Chemical Romance and I hope you like it!

Oh yea, and in case any of you reading this and you are an idiot who hasn't figured this out yet, this is FANfiction not Iamthecreatorofthisfiction, I don't own Invader Zim, or My Chemical Romance, or anything. Duh. Well I do own this story line I guess, unless I read this somewhere and then thought I thought it up myself, probably not though. Enough babbling, on with the parade!

(A/N this is a prologue of sorts)

Gir made his way back to the home base from the CD Cesspool, a new CD in one hand (Or paw or stub or something) and a SUCK Monkey in the other. He slurped away happily as he entered the cul-de-sac with the strange glowing green and purple house at the end. He knew his master would be furious with him for spending the "monies" that they needed to appear as normal as possible, but he just couldn't resist. As soon as he heard Welcome To The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance he HAD to have the CD. And the chocolate-bubble gum SUCK Monkey at the nearby convenience store was the icing on the cake.

Gir shifted the CD from his left hand to his right to open the door. He continued through the house, past the couch and tv, through the kitchen, and into the trash can elevator. He made his way through the labyrinth of a base and into a room he called his own.

Discarded SUCK Monkeys littered the floor along with worn down rubber piggies. Gir threw the one in his hand among the piles and continued to rip off the plastic wrapper of his new disk. He pulled off the cardboard box with My Chemical Romance written in big letters on it, underneath it, there was a skeleton in a black parade uniform marching to an unheard beat. Under that was the words The Black Parade. He opened the case and had a long sniff of the sweet new CD smell(A/N don't ask me how he did this). Gir took the new CD out and then!... he ate it.

Now don't worry folks he didn't actually eat it, he merely stuck it into his internal CD drive where he could either project the sounds out of his speakers or hear it in his head. He chose the latter and made his way up to the top floor. He was just sitting on the couch as the first song started.

(A/N end prologue)

_-_

_Now come one come all to this tragic affair  
Wipe off that make-up  
What's in is despair  
So throw on the black dress, mix in with the lot  
You might wake up and notice you're someone you're not_

_-_

Zim awoke from the deep slumber he now enjoyed so oh, so much, the sleep he could now enjoy, ever since THAT happened. He threw off the covers and shuddered as his bare feet touched cold ground. He looked around him, bleary eyes, though still much better than any humans, taking in his surroundings. The black walls and blood red carpet, but really the room was void of any furnishings, just like Zim liked it, simple,

He had to dress for skool, hi skool actually, he was in his senior year. 'I don't know why I still go to that filthy place,' he thought miserably, slowly crossing the room to the closet. _It's because of her, _his inner voice told him. He paused, shook his head, and continued on.

He exited his room wearing a red Green Day shirt, baggy pants, and a pair of old high tops. His antennae were covered in a wig of shaggy black hair that nearly fell into his eyes which were now blue, other than their normal blood red. He had changed his appearance ever since THAT happened. His skin he kept green, no one had noticed so far, 'And besides, we can't have Dib forget that I'm Irken,' he thought to himself.

Ever since the day THAT incident the two boys had become a bit closer, almost to the point of a friendship. (A/N don't worry this isn't a ZADR.)

-

_If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see  
You can find out first hand what it's like to be me  
So gather 'round, piggies, and kiss this goodbye  
I'd encourage your smiles, I'll expect you won't cry_

-

Zim entered the bathroom that he had installed since THAT incident, and began thinking back to why he had put it in. He looked up at the mirror, at his Irken face, and memories began flooding back to him.

-

AHHHHHH! AHHHHHH! AHHHHHH! AHHHHHH!

-

He cringed, looking down at the sink, his hands gripping the sides like he were in physical pain. It had an abnormal day as things were looking good for him for once. Then it all went down the drain, like the one he was staring at, at this very moment. Everything had ended for him. He had no future now because of a single day.

-

_Another contusion, my funeral jag  
Here's my resignation, I'll serve it in drag  
You've got front row seats to the penitence ball  
When I grow up I want to be nothing at all  
I said..._

-

"NO!" Zim shouted out loud. "I won't think about it," he muttered.

-

_YEAH! YEAH! I SAID-YEAH! YEAH_

_-_

Cracks started to form in the sink's frame as Zim's mind took him back to that one day.

-

_C'mon C'mon C'mon I said  
Save me!  
Get me the hell out of here Save me!  
Too young to die and my dear  
You can't!  
If you can hear me just walk away and  
Save Me!_

-

The day to change them all.

-

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Oh snap, drama. Ok now review please! I need to know what you think and whether or not I should continue this story! If you don't review then you don't get to see what happened on THAT day and why Zim is acting so weird, 'cuz thats coming up in the next chapter, I think, maybe the one after that, who knows? =] Oh and feel free to flame me, as long as its not stupid flaming like, 'u suk'. If you're going to be mean, be mean in a constructive way like, 'I didn't like this part because....' but I need feedback people!

With love, and pies!!! Yummy, IWasTheTurkey

Gir: It's me, I was the turkey all along!!!

Zim: I was wondering what that turkey was doing there. Gir I need you to...

Gir: I was the turkey! Me!

Zim: So you were.


	2. Dead!

Wooo chapter two! Hey that rhymed! Well I cant believe I'm actually doing this, writing a fanfic I mean, but I already said that last chapter. Speaking of which, I didn't really like that chapter, but oh well, enough babbling. So, piggies, on with the show! (Btw this is a flash back to THAT day, haha that sounds so corny) Oh yea and there's a swear in the like second to last verse so if you don't like swears then close you're eyes at the end )

-

_And if your heart stops beating  
I'll be here wondering  
Did you get what you deserve?_

-

"Gir!" the little, green Irken shouted from his underground labs. A few moments later the even smaller robot fell from the ceiling in his green puppy disguise, landing flat on his face. He then stood up and saluted but soon lost interest.

"Gir, I have a new and even more ingenious plan to eradicate the Dib-Monkey," Zim said looking very proud of himself.

"Aww, but he seems nice."

"Nice?" Zim screeched, "he is a threat to our mission and must be destroyed. And besides, I already made this!" He pulled a small purple sphere out of thin air. It was about half the size of a marble and there appeared to be a swirling black substance inside of it. He then pulled another object out of nowhere, a remote control similar to the one used to control Gir's behavior level (A/N from Gir Goes Crazy And Stuff). He pressed a button that caused the sphere to hover about an inch above Zim's gloved hand.

"Oooooo," says Gir, sounding amazed, "wassat?"

"This," Zim shouted, thrusting his hand into the air, "is the expanding, sphere, thingy... When I press this button," he motioned to the remote, "it will slowly get larger. I will plant it in the Dib-Human's big head and it will slowly become so large it will explode!" Zim broke off laughing evilly.

"I like explosions!" Gir shouted and joined in Zim's laughter.

-

_The ending of your life  
And if you get to Heaven  
I'll be here waiting, babe  
Did you get what you deserve?  
The end_

_and if your life won't wait  
Then your heart can't take this_

-

(A/N this is where what I don't own starts, ill explain this at the end)

Zim made his way out of the skool building, hands proudly on his hips, as he scanned the playground for Dib, so he could set his plan into action. He spotted the big headed boy leaning against the skoolyard fence, which strangely has barbed wire at the top, near another kid, Torque. Zim found this very unusual as Dib had no friends and no one really like to associate with him.

-

_Have_

_You heard the news that you're dead  
No one ever had much nice to say  
I think they never liked you anyway  
Oh Take  
Me from the hospital bed  
Wouldn't it be grand  
It ain't exactly what you planned_

-

Zim could remote control the sphere but Dib was out of his range, he needed to get closer to get it into his ear and begin the exploding. He tried to look inconspicuous as he made his path through the children, which is a little hard when you're green, and he wasn't paying too much attention to his surroundings. He didn't notice Dib whisper something into Torque's ear and he didn't see him smile and raise his arm. And he definitely didn't see the red rubber ball hurdling at him at break-neck speeds until it hit him smack in the chest.

Zim hit the ground hard and blacked out.

-

_And wouldn't it be great _

_If we were dead?_

_DEAD_

_-_

A bit later Zim awoke to find himself looking at the sky and many young faces looking

down at him. Another thing he noticed in his line of vision was a count-down timer that read 9:12 that sat at the corner of his eye.

He sat up quickly and the children, after finding he wasn't dead, slowly dispersed. "How could that be?" he said to himself. "My lifelock doesn't come on unless..." Zim slowly brought his hands up to his back only to find, nothing. There was nothing on his back. Suddenly he started panicking, his six fingers scrabbling up and down his backside. His Pak was gone.

He shouted to the world, "My Pak is gone! I need it to live!" He looked around at the children who were once again staring at him. "I mean, my backpack is gone...um, it had my lunch in it... Which I need to live!" He glared at all the kids around him suspiciously. "Which one of you took it." The crowd parted to reveal a nervous looking Dib holding the Pak tight against his chest. He immediately took off with his prize held in an iron grip.

Dib, of course, had heard all of what Zim had said. 'If he needs his Pak to live,' he thought, 'then it is obviously more important than I ever imagined.' He ran out of the skoolyard and down the sidewalk. He took a quick glance back to find Zim sprinting at full speed, trying to catch him and Dib picked up the pace.

"Give that back!" Zim yelled. "My memory drive, my charging cell, my atmospheric processor! My ZIMNESS! Everything is in my Pak!"

"Ha," Dib shouted back. "All the more reason for me to take it back to my dad's labs and experiment on it." He flinched, 'Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to tell him that.'

Zim was slowing, he didn't have much energy from losing his Pak and running at full speed wasn't going to make it any better. Dib ran around a corner in the distance as Zim was struggling to keep up. He turned around the corner to find the big headed boy gone. Zim took a few more steps and collapsed.

Meanwhile, Dib was on a bus trying to keep the Pak under control until he got to the labs. "Stupid thing probably wants to get back to Zim," he muttered to himself. It swung back and forth in Dib's hands and people were looking at him strangely. Finally, he just sat on it. The Pak squirmed a bit, but it slowly gave up. Or at least that's what Dib thought until two thick wires suddenly shot out of the Pak and into Dib's back, causing him to arch his spine, which allowed the Pak to get free and attach it's self to Dib.

At first he panicked, scrabbling at his back the same way Zim did previously, but soon his logic made him calm himself and with a shaking voice he assured himself, "Dad will get it off, and then after that I can take over this filthy planet... Wait, what?"

-

_Tongue-tied and oh so squeamish  
You never fell in love  
Did you get what you deserve?  
The ending of your life  
_

-

Zim looked around him from his position on the ground, 'I have to find a way to get to the Dib-Father's labs. There has to be a way.' He continued searching and looked into the shop nearest him. It was the arcade and there was someone inside he recognized. Gaz. 'No, never. I would never get help from a human.' But he found that without his Pak he was losing all feelings, all hatred for humans. And besides, the countdown in the corner of his eye told him he had four and a half minutes to live.

He swallowed what remained of his pride and pushed himself off the ground with shaking arms.

Gaz was in her own little fictitious world. She happily blasted Vampire Piggies with practiced accuracy. A groaning behind her broke her concentration and she was mobbed by a mass of pigs and Game Over flashed across the screen. She had gotten the high score but was still very angry at being interrupted. Gaz turned to doom whoever it was to a nightmare world when she found no one was there. The groan started again and she looked down to see Zim laying at her feet.

Zim mumbled something.

"What?" she asked angrily.

"Dib-Sister...Filthybrother...takePak...toyou'refather'slabs...needittolive...

"You're not making any sense." She turned back to write GAZ in the high scores as the credits rolled past in her game. As she turned, Zim saw opportunity sticking out of her pocket and quickly took his chance.

"Dib...hetook...yourgame." Zim said after stuffing her GameSlave into his pocket.

"Dib did WHAT?" she screeched. Gaz frantically searched her pockets only to find her game missing. "Where did you say he was?"

"I'llshowyou...carry me.

Gaz angrily grabbed one of his ankles and dragged him out of the arcade.

-

_And if you get to Heaven  
I'll be here waiting, babe  
Did you get what you deserve?_

_The end_

-

Dib quickly ran off the bus and into his father's labs, sprinting past the guards who let him pass after recognizing him as Professor Membrane's son. He quickly made his way up to his dad's assistant.

"I have to speak with my father this instant."

The young girl looked up at him lazily. "He's a very busy man. He cant talk to you until," she looked at her schedule, "September."

"Now, filthy human!" Dib screamed before slapping a hand over his own mouth.

The girl quickly pressed a button on her desk causing the doors to fling open, allowing Dib to enter. As he did he saw the silhouette of his father with his back turned to him, working on whatever was making the bright light and harsh sparking sounds. Other than that, it was mostly dark in the room.

Dib flicked on a light switch near the door causing Prof. Membrane to stop. He turned quickly and sighed. "You know better than to disturb me while I'm working," he chided his son. He then cocked his head, "How did you get in here anyway?"

"It doesn't matter, filthy human, uh, I mean Dad," Dib said quickly. "I need you to look at this immediately." He turned around to show his back.

"Your backpack?" he asked confused.

"No it's not just a backpack, it's stuck to me and I really need to get it off. Do it now human! Er, Dad." He could tell his dad was not convinced. "Just look at this!" Dib then activated the spider legs of Zim's Pak. He didn't understand how he knew how to control them but right now he was only concerned with getting it off.

Now Prof. Membrane's interest was piqued. "Oooo, now that's a fine piece of machinery you got there, son."

"Quickly, filthy human, you've got to get it off before it takes over my mind and I become Zim!"

It was then that Dib realized something, the Pak WAS Zim. The little green alien he had fought all these years, who he had laughed at and cried because of, was nothing but a shell. A host for this parasitic, mind controlling monster, bent on destruction. Zim was not Zim, it was this Pak that gave him his personality and his insanity. He wondered what would happen to Zim after being away from his Pak for so long. All this confused him but also made him realize that if he didn't get this thing off soon he would lose all his free will and become what Zim was.

No, he would become Zim.

-

_And if your life won't wait_

_Then your heart can't take this_

-

It was also at that moment that Gaz busted through the doorway looking very angry with a very out of it looking Zim clutched in her fingers. He hung by his ankle about an inch of the ground, but as soon as Gaz saw Dib she immediately dropped him in a heap on the linoleum.

Zim was very confused. For one, he was suffering from loss of his, well, brain. Second he just got dragged all the way from the arcade on his face. And, last but not least, he just got dropped on the ground and was suffering from head trauma, of a sorts. But there was one thing he did understand, he was going to die in thirty seconds if he didn't get his Pak on soon.

-

_Have_

_You heard the news that you're dead?  
No one ever had much nice to say  
I think they never liked you anyway  
Oh take_

_Me from the hospital bed  
Wouldn't it be grand  
To take a pistol by the hand?_

-

Gaz was very, well, pissed. 'Dib should know better than to take my GameSlave! He will pay!' she though furiously. "Give me back my game, Dib! Give it back now and I MIGHT let you live!"

"What are you talking about Gaz-Human? I don't have your game!"

"Fine!" was her furious response. "Suffer my wrath!" She seized one of his still protruding spider legs and whipped it out from under him, causing him to fall hard. She then smashed him like a baseball bat against the wall several times. Dib, who was lucky to be alive, was miraculously not bleeding as Gaz continued to pound him.

Zim was watching with fascination until he realized there was 15 seconds left on his lifelock. With a burst of strength he jumped up off the floor but realized he could do nothing.

-

_And wouldn't it be great _

_If we were dead?_

-

Then something miraculous happened. Gaz actually smashed Dib right off of the Pak and without a host it retracted its legs before dropping to the ground. Gaz swiftly moved on to Dib to continue her onslaught while it was falling. Time seemed to slow and both Zim and Dib, despite his terrible pain, had their eyes glued to the falling Pak. Even Gaz, sensing the tension, stopped moving to watch the Pak fall. Professor Membrane remained completely oblivious through the whole thing, even while his son was being beaten.

-

_And in my honest observation  
During this operation  
Found a complication in your heart_

_So long  
'Cause now you've got  
Maybe just two weeks to live  
is that the most the both of you can give?_

-

It hit the ground.

And shattered.

-

_LA LA LA LA LA!_

_LA LA LA LA LA!_

_LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!_

-

00:05 Zim was shocked. His eyes went wide and he collapsed on the ground.

-

_Oh, motherfucker if LIFE ain't just a joke_

-

00:04 Dib stared at Zim in horror until the realization that he had finally won hit him and a small smirk lit on his face. But something wouldn't let him fully smile.

-

_Then why are we laughing?_

-

00:03Gaz wasn't exactly sure what was going on but she knew from Zim's expression that something terrible had just happened.

-

_Then why am I dead?_

-

00:02 Zim closed his eyes and hung his head.

00:01

00:00

-

_DEAD_

-

I confused ya there didn't I?!?! Hahaha you all thought it was Dib that was gunna die... BUT NO!! And then you think, hey wait a second, if Zim dies, how can this be a flashback?!?!?! And then you think, where is gir in all this?!?!?!?! Oh the drama. And btw, what I meant by I don't own this is, this is actually based on the unfinished episode Ten Minutes To Doom, in fact some of the dialog is exactly the same, that was written by Rob Hummel so don't you go suing me! (~lawyers sulk away~) Look the script up on google but be sure to put ten and not 10 or it wont come up. Well anyway, go and have a good life and review! Don't forget to review! If you do I will give you all some V8 fusions, those things are good. AND good for you! Now that's a good combination, kinda like fanfics! Have a happy, uh whats going on today?...(~talks with someone in the shadows~) "WHATDYA MEAN, THERE'S NO HOLIDAY TODAY!" (~comes back sulking~) Have a happy, um, have a happy make up your own holiday-day!


	3. This is How I Disappear

Finally, chapter 3 is up! Before people get mad, know that I just do what the song tells me to. Don't worry, next chapter will make more sense

-

_To un-explain_

_The unforgivable_

_Drain all the blood & give the kids a show_

-

Dib watched as the Pak fell to the ground and shattered. He had been waiting for years for this moment. When his nemesis, Zim, would finally be defeated. He allowed himself a smile as he looked into Zim's dumbstruck eyes.

-

_By streetlight_

_This dark night_

_A séance_ _down below_

_There's things that I have done_

_You never_

_Should ever know_

-

Dib's smirk faded as he thought about what was going to happen after this. With his luck, even after an autopsy, nobody would believe Zim was an alien. The people of Earth would believe he was just a strange kid with a medical condition, causing his skin to be green and having differently developed organs. After all, nobody really cared when their children came home with foreign objects for organs, and the fact that Zim had too many, including six hearts and three different colored livers.

Deep in his conscience Dib knew this all along but he always pushed it back.

-

_And without you is how I disappear_

_And live my life alone_

_Forever now_

_And without you is how I disappear_

_And live my life alone_

_Forever Now_

-

Why did he even continue fighting? Sure he would save the world, but he wouldn't get recognition for it. Life would go on without him and he would be forever dubbed "crazy". It was similar to the moral dilemma he had on the bus going to the room with a moose. He wanted to save the world, but he didn't want to save the people who ridiculed him.

'I like fighting him,' he thought. 'I enjoy our battles. Without him my life is meaningless.'

-

_Who walks among the famous living dead_

_Drowns all the boys and girls inside your bed_

_And if you could talk to me_

_Tell me if it's so_

_That all the good girls go_

_To heaven_

_Well heaven knows_

-

Gaz wasn't stupid. Though she had a look of pure apathy on her face, she still knew something was happening that was more important than beating the crap out of Dib. She still wasn't sure what was going on but by the smirk on Dib's face it was something bad for Zim. Gaz didn't hate Zim as much as she did the other people on this world. Whenever Zim was scheming, Dib was there to stop him, meaning he wasn't around to bother Gaz. And they also shared an undying hatred towards the human race, but, she still hated him.

-

_That without you is how I disappear_

_And live my life alone_

_Forever now_

_And without you is how I disappear_

_And live my life alone_

_Forever Now_

-

Professor Membrane was staring at the wall that Gaz and Dib were standing by. It had several large cracks running up and down, from floor to ceiling. He wondered how the got there and vaguely remembered Gaz being angry with Dib. Membrane didn't pay too much attention to his kids and he was thinking about something else as Gaz was slaughtering Dib. He noticed his children's expressions, Dib was staring with a small smile on his face and Gaz actually had one eye open. He was about to question this when he suddenly thought about something else that was science related, and once again lost his train of thought.

-

_Can you hear me cry out to you?_

_Words I thought I'd choke on_

_Figure out_

_I'm really not so with you anymore_

_I'm just a ghost_

_-_

'What's going to happen to me after this,' was one thought that popped into Zim's head. Irkens didn't have a religion, once you were dead you were dead. In his time on Earth, he had researched several other religions and believed none of them. The thought of nothing is a hard one to comprehend. Knowing, that in a few seconds, there will be nothing left of your existence, just blank. The more he tried to figure it out the harder it became.

As he gave up on that thought his mind drifted back to his base. When he was gone Dib would get in there and take pictures, maybe even use Zim's own technology to... 'To do what,' his inner voice asked. 'You're gunna be dead.'

And then there was Gir, what was going to happen to the poor little robot.

Meanwhile, Gir was partying with several girls in a club, dancing to a pounding bass beat, lasers flashing, and smoke machines, well, smoking. (A/N Smoke machines are what the people want!)

Zim mentally shook his head. 'He'll be fine.'

-

_So I can't hurt you anymore_

_So I can't hurt you anymore_

-

Dib was still fighting with his conscience. He wasn't sure wether he should laugh or cry. To be happy that the fight was over and he had won, or be sad that the fight was over and no one would recognize him as their savior, that after this there was nothing for him to do with his life.

-

_And now_

_You wanna see how far down_

_I can sink?_

_Let me go!_

-

Dib loved to hate him. (A/N I know what you're thinking, don't worry, this isn't a ZADR. Romance fans sulk off WAIT, come back, there's going to be ZAGR. Romance fans rush back Next chapter. I'm so evil.)

-

_So_

_You can_

_Well now so_

_You can_

_I'm so far away from you_

_Well now so _

_You can_

-

Zim watched as the countdown went to 00:00.

-

_And without you is how I disappear_

_And without you is how I disappear_

_And without you is how I disappear_

_And without you_

_Forever_

_Forever Now_

-

Ugggggg, I HATED that chapter, this whole thing could be summed up in, like, 1 sentence, but to have it go with the song, and because I'm making all my chapters more that 1000 words long, I made it long. So it just repeats itself over, and over, and over... Oh well, after this chapter the fun really begins, oh and btw if anybody read the notice last chapter, pretend I never wrote that, I found a better way to make it work that doesn't need an intermission thingy so everyone is happy. YAY.

With love and acoustic guitars,

IWasTheTurkey, future ruler of this dimension and the four after it.


	4. The Sharpest Lives

I'm really sorry I haven't updated in forever. But don't worry because I'm updating now and this is where the story gets good. FINALLY! I just hope I'm good at writing this kinda stuff... Ih and remember what Zim was wearing in the first chapter? Yea ,well that's actually what I was wearing the day I wrote that... XD It's not very important, just wanted to remind you what he was wearing. Oh yea, and for what I imagine Gaz is like, go to DeviantArt and search Gaz, select popular, and it should be the first one. **Disclaimer:** This picture doesn't belong to me, nor was it mad for me, I just really liked it.

Anyway, on with the story 'cause its finally getting good. (Oh yea, and this is back in normal time)

_And when its in italics and not centered that means it's a flashback. _**Geez, enough with the flashbacks! **_Sorry, I cant help it!_

Oh and Zim is also taller, my theory for this is that Earth is smaller and would have a lower gravitational pull than Irk, which I am assuming is huge. Also Irken ships would probably have the same amount of artificial gravity as Irk, and all the Irken-controlled planets I have seen are huge as well, so being on Earth so long would have an effect on his height... or make him explode, whichever.

-

_Well it rains and it pours_

_When you're out on your own_

-

Zim took his time walking out on to the porch of hi-skool. He had the nasty suspicion that it was the same skool he went to all those years ago, but with a crudely painted "hi" in front of "skool". He looked around with a depressing slowness to find it was raining outside. No, it was pouring. He pulled an umbrella from out of his backpack and opened it with even more deliberate slowness. A small smirk came across his face as he remembered when he had tried to use Gaz as an umbrella.

Gaz. She was there that day. His smirk fell.

-

_Zim watched as the countdown dropped to 00:00. _

_He awaited the nothingness of death, but all the while he was wondering. He wasn't sure what it would feel like. To die. Would it be like a candle being blown out, so full of life one moment, then gone the next, with nothing but a small trail of smoke to remember him by. He hoped it wouldn't be painful, that's not how he wanted to spend the last moment of his life. _

_Then there was the nothing. Not the kind of dead-nothing, where there was, well, nothing. No, he could still hear his organs making all sorts of noises, the breathing of the two humans in his presence (Professor Membrane had mysteriously left). In fact his awareness seemed heightened. Not his senses, but rather, he had a new kind of feeling, as if something holding back his thoughts had been lifted. That, other than the physical weight of the Pak being gone, he had a sort of mental weight lifted off his shoulders._

_But that was beside the point, he was alive. He looked around himself cautiously and up at the humans staring at him. They both looked nervous, even Gaz, who had never seen someone die before. Sure she doomed people to eternal suffering, but never killed. They couldn't see his timer, they didn't know he was supposed to be dead._

-

Zim's face held a small smile once more. What they had all been taught since they were smeets was a lie.

-

_"My Tallest?" Zim questioned the large screen in his underground base. His leaders sat in comfortable looking chairs sipping Irken sodas._

_"What is it this time, Zim?" Red asked, sounding bored. "Wait, where is your Pak, Zim?"_

_"Yes my Tallest, that was what I was calling about. You see, I had my Pak taken off, and..." Zim wasn't sure exactly what to say. "As you can see, I am not dead."_

_Red turned to Purple who had dropped his soda. "We can't let word of this get to the public." He said quietly. "After we make sure Zim never comes back to Irk, we delete the memories of everyone on board the Massive." Purple, never being the smart one, just nodded blankly._

_Red turned back to Zim and said, "Zim, I'm not sure how to put this but, your mission is a lie. We sent you to the 'secret planet' in hopes that the trip would kill you. You are the laughing stalk of the entire empire."_

_Zim waited for his Tallest to break out laughing and tell him this was all just a test of his loyalty. But the newly awakened part of him knew that what Red was telling him was the truth._

_"My Tallest..." _

_"And you are hereby banished from Irk," Purple began._

_"Like that ever stopped him before," muttered Red._

_"All transmissions from you to Irk, the Massive, or any Invader will be blocked." Purple continued. "You are not to come anywhere near Irk and we have set up scanners designed to lock on to your bio-signature and make you explode," he finished with a grin on his face, happy with his burst of ingenuity ._

_" Oh, and you're now on Irk's most wanted list," continued Red. "Just in case you do make it past the scanners." Red was also smiling._

_"Good bye." They said in unison and ended the transmission waving, leaving a dumbstruck Zim staring at a black screen._

-

_If I crash on the couch_

_Can I sleep in my clothes_

-

After that day Zim went into a deep depression. The only thing that kept him alive was his curiosity. He wondered why Red and Purple were so determined to keep the Pakless Irken from contacting his own kind. He did many tests on what was left of his shattered Pak and found what he had been looking for.

You see, Irkens really didn't need their Paks to live, they were misinformed into thinking this so no one would ever take it off. The Paks are really more of a mind control device. They keep their hosts completely devoted to the Tallest and the Irken Empire. They made sure all Irkens were bent on the destruction of all other races and never strayed from that thought.

Zim stepped into the rain, flinching as the drops hit the black umbrella. He had bathed in paste this morning but he still didn't like the rain very much. He walked down the sidewalk, head down, very unlike the proud stride he once had.

Gaz watched Zim from the safety of her own umbrella with a look of anger on her face. Her appearance hadn't changed much in the years, she still had her pointy, purple hair coming up around her face. She still had a black dress, though it was slightly tighter to better compliment her figure. She still had her skull necklace and a permanent look of anger pasted on her face.

Zim had been looking particularly depressed lately and she didn't like it. She had never seen him so sad since the day after he lost his Pak, as Dib called it. She hated that Zim looked so sad, that he looked so suicidal. She believed suicide was for the weak, and in all the years she had known Zim he had been idiotic, egoistical,annoying and a bit of a whiner, but not weak, never weak. She sighed in anger with herself as she did something she felt was very out of character.

"Zim," she said coming up behind him. He looked shocked and a bit scared, as he was afraid that she was going to inflict pain upon him. "Would you like to," she gritted her teeth, "come over my house?" Zim gave her a strange look. "Stop looking at me like I have two heads!" She shouted.

Zim was, understandably, cautious. 'What's the worst that could happen?' He thought, his inner voice protested that she could kill him, but he smothered that thought with, 'So?' Part of him was interested in why Gaz would even say anything to him, so he said, "Fine." Nothing more, nothing less.

Gaz walked past Zim wondering why she had decided to help him and feeling furious with herself for allowing her emotions get the better of her. But there was no turning back now.

-

Gaz unlocked the door and cautiously peered inside, hoping that what Dib had told her this morning over a breakfast of burnt toast was the truth.

Zim, unknowing of this asked, "Where is Dib?" in a monotone voice.

"At one of his Eyeball meetings, or something."

Though Dib and Zim had come to a sort of agreement that day, Dib wouldn't be too comfortable with his former nemesis in his own house. Gaz placed her umbrella against the wall by the door and motioned for Zim to do the same. She sat on the couch near the door, in front of the massive television. She stared at the blank screen as Zim sat next to, but not close to, her on the couch. There was an awkward silence.

"So..." Zim began but trailed off.

Gaz was lost in her own thoughts. 'What the hell am I doing? Even if I decide to help him I can't let him know that I am. They'll think I've gone soft.' She was unsure how she was going to go about this. A sudden thought popped into her head. 'It might make him worse though,' was another thought. 'But it's the only way.'

With this thought she was brought back to the awkward silence that you could almost see between the two of them. "How about I get you something to drink," she said slowly, rising from the couch. Her hospitality caught him in unawares and he completely forgot his intolerance of human food.

She returned with a bottle with Poop written on the label and offered it to him. He took it from her hand and examined it. "You know I can't drink this filth," he knew that she knew that he was an alien so he didn't bother making up excuses as to why he couldn't drink it.

But Gaz was persistent, "You should try it, you might like it."

Zim turned it over in his hands. " What is this anyway?"

"That's not important," she said simply.

Zim didn't want to be rude, which confused him. He was used to pissing people off and didn't care for people's feelings. He figured he didn't want to annoy Gaz because she would destroy him if he did. 'Oh well,' he figured, 'If it kills me, it kills me." He pulled off the cap and brought the bottle up to where his nose would be. He recoiled a bit. "The smell is kinda strong."

"How do you smell without a nose?" Gaz asked, sounding a little like Dib.

"I dunno." He sat there looking down the neck of the bottle. "Why aren't you drinking any?"

"I don't want any."

"Well, I won't drink this unless you do too."

"No," she said crossing her arms.

He stared at her without moving.

"Never."

He continued to stare.

"Oh fine." And with that she grumbled and stalked off back into the kitchen. A moment later the hiss of a bottle opening reached Zim's antennae. Gaz returned with an identical bottle clutched in one hand, and a fist made of the other.

"You happy now?" she said through gritted teeth.

"Yes," Zim stated plainly. There was another awkward silence. "So..." Zim started weakly.

Gaz sighed, 'this is taking too long.' She raised her bottle as if in toast, and tilting her head back she took a long swig of the liquid. Zim stared at her a moment, thinking, then shrugged and followed her lead.

-

'_Cause I've spent the night dancing_

_I'm drunk I suppose_

_If it looks like I'm laughing _

_I'm really just asking to leave_

-

Several hours and many beers later...

-

_This alone, you're in time for the show_

_You're the one that I need_

_I'm the one that you loath_

_-_

Zim couldn't quite understand how he could tolerate the 'beer', as Gaz later called it, and he couldn't figure out why the liquid didn't burn him like water did. Though he seemed to remember drinking a liquid at the Membrane household once before, during the whole Tak fiasco...only to be burned by another drink a moment later.

-

_You can watch me corrode like a beast in repose_

'_Cause I love all the poison_

_Away with the boys in the band_

-

But, frankly, he couldn't care less. He hadn't had this much fun since Impending Doom 1 (even after he found he was on his own planet he still thought it was worth it). He also found that he and Gaz had the same taste in music. (AN: this is where it gets a little confusing, see they're singing along to the lyrics, um I'll underline it.)

-

"_I've really been_

_On a bender and it shows_

_So why don't you blow me_

_A kiss before she goes?!"_

-

Zim and Gaz were both dancing around each other... If you could call it dancing. Gaz jumped up and down a little off from the beat screaming the lyrics at the top of her lungs. Zim did the same but spun in circles and occasionally jumped on one foot. In other words, they were very drunk.

-

"_Give me a shot to remember_

_And you can take all the pain away from me_

_A kiss and I will surrender_

_The Sharpest Lives are the Deadliest to Lead"_

-

Zim grabbed one of Gaz's uplifted hands and spun her around a couple times like he had seen on television . After a few rotations, however, she jerked her hand away and stuck them straight out as if she were on a tightrope. She struggled to keep her balance as she swayed this way and that. Once she regained her composure she walked unsteadily to the corner of the room where she bowed her head and promptly threw up. Gaz straightened and spun on one foot to face Zim once again. She walked over to him, grinned and asked, "Where were we?" Gaz's smile unsettled Zim, even in his drunken state, but he pushed the startled thoughts out of his head and continued to dance.

-

"_A light to burn all the empires_

_So bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be_

_In love with all of these vampires_

_So you can leave like the sane abandoned me!"_

_-_

Their dancing began to slow as they ran out of energy, and also began to feel sick. Zim tripped over a discarded beer bottle and fell backwards onto the couch. Gaz hopped on next to him, much closer than before. She leaned against him, her breath coming in heavy gasps.

-

_There's a place in the dark where the animals go_

_You can take off your in the cannibal glow_

-

Gaz turned to face Zim and smirked when she saw that his wig had fallen off. "Take you contacts off," she ordered him, "You look ridiculous without the wig." He happily took the 'scratchy' lenses off, revealing his blood red orbs.

-

_Juliet loves the beat and the lust it commands_

_Drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands _

_Romeo_

-

Gaz found herself lost in Zim's red eyes. Her heart was pounding and she held her breath. Her mind became intoxicated (not only from beer) as a million thoughts ran through her head. She became vaguely aware of the tip of her nose touching the area of Zim's face where his own nose would be.

Zim also found himself lost in Gaz's own amber orbs. 'She has the most beautiful eyes,' was one of the thoughts rushing through his head. 'Wait, what am I thinking?' he was only slightly aware of the music still playing as his mind nearly shut down from the waves of thoughts and emotions.

-

_I've really been _

_On a bender and it shows_

_So why don't you blow me_

_A kiss before she goes_

-

One clear thought came through all the muddled ones in Gaz's mind, 'This isn't exactly going as planned...' Their lips touched and she suddenly remembered to breathe.

-

_Give me a shot to remember_

_And you can take all the pain away from me_

_A kiss and I will surrender_

_The Sharpest Lives are the Deadliest to Lead_

_A light to burn all the empires_

_So bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be_

_In love with all of these vampires_

_So you can leave like the sane abandoned me_

-

Dib was walking home from another failed attempt at proving himself and his theories sane. Even his fellow Eyeballs wouldn't believe that bigfoot was in his garage using the belt sander. He had given up trying to expose Zim ever since the day he had nearly died and spiraled into a deep state of the depression.

He reached his front door and place his briefcase down so he could get his keys out of his pocket. He fumbled with the chain until he found the right key, but as he turned the key in the lock the knob turned with it.

He grumbled. "Gaz must be home," he muttered to himself. Unlike Zim, Gaz hadn't changed much over the years, and thought he loved her, he also found her very frustrating sometimes.

Dib pushed the door open and was assaulted by a strong combination of beer and vomit fumes. He had to restrain himself from barfing as well. His ears were also bombarded by very loud music. 'How did I not notice that before?' he asked himself as he clamped his hands over his ears.

But it was what he saw that shocked him the most. Sleeping on the couch was none other than his former arch-nemesis, Zim. And in his arms, eyes closed, small smile on her face was none other than his sister, Gaz. This made him want to vomit more than the odors and made his head hurt more than the music. He immediately backed up and slammed the door behind him.

He stood there a moment, back against the door, breathing heavily, deep in thought. Dib pushed himself off the door and saw he had left his briefcase outside. He picked it up and walked away from his house, unsure of where he was going.

-

_Give me a shot to remember_

_And you can take all the pain away from me_

_A kiss and I will surrender_

_The Sharpest Lives are the Deadliest to Lead_

_A light to burn all the empires_

_So bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be_

_In love with all of these vampires_

_So you can leave like the sane abandoned me_

-

AN: Whoa, that was a really long chapter, it's almost 4000 words... it was fun to write though! Does this count as a cliffhanger? ...I always leave my chapters off at a cliffhanger. Until next time,

IWasTheTurkey!


	5. Welcome to the Black Parade

-

Dib had been wandering around town for several hours now and found he was still overwhelmed with what he had seen in his own house. Seeing his own sister and his former nemesis asleep together on the couch in a position one might expect to find two lovers had left a lasting impression in his mind. Dib pieced two and two together and realized something had happened between the human girl and alien in the time he was gone. He _was_ happy for Gaz, that she had found someone, but how long could it last, and did it have to be Zim?

-

_When I was a young boy_

_My father took me into the city_

_To see a marching band_

-

He looked up from the sidewalk to find he was at his father's labs. Dib sighed. This was the place where his father, the great Professor Membrane, did his work. With his beloved _science_

that he loved more than his own children.

-

_He said son when you grow up_

_Would you be _

_The savior of the broken_

_The beaten and the damned?_

-

His father was always trying to bring his 'poor insane son' into the light. The harsh fluorescent light of _real science_. He was always humiliating Dib, he had put him in an asylum (remember Halloween?), and once he had even hired a _psychiatrist._ He tried to explain his situation to her and she left the room screaming.

-

_He said will you_

_Defeat them_

_Your demons_

_And all the non-believers_

_The plans that they have made?_

-

Dib sighed again and sat on a bench across the street. Why couldn't it be like when Dib was just a child, when Gaz was only a few years old, when his mother was still alive?

-

_Because one day_

_I'll leave you_

_A phantom_

_To lead you in the summer_

_To join the black parade_

-

Dib had little memories of those times, just glimpses of his mother's face and feelings of happiness between all of them, even Gaz, even his father. But one memory he remembered vividly, when his dad took him and his family to see a parade in the city.

-

_When I was a young boy_

_My father took me into the city_

_To see a marching band_

-

It was his clearest memory of his mother. Dib could still remember the color of her sun-dress; yellow with red flowers. He remembered a wide-eyed Gaz held in one arm, the other wrapped around his father who held his hand. He remembered being mesmerized by the marching band and his father smiling at his open-mouthed stare. His dad wasn't wearing his lab suit but a casual green shirt and jeans. Dib missed that father, _his_ father. Not the goggles and lab coat that defined who he was now.

-

_He said son when you grow up_

_Would you be _

_The savior of the broken_

_The beaten and the damned?_

-

Dib was awakened from his reverie by a deep grumbling originating from underground. He tried to stand but was forced back down by the vibrations. Suddenly the rumbling stopped and there was blast of white light and gale-force winds. Then there was nothing.

---

One Week Later

---

_Sometimes I get the feeling_

_She's watching over me_

_And other times I feel like I should go_

-

"Are you ready, Dib?" Gaz stood in the doorway of the bathroom watching her brother adjust his tie in the mirror. Dib looked over at Gaz, she wore a simple black dress and her skull necklace still around her neck. A medium sized black purse hung off her left shoulder.

"Yea, just give me a moment." He began to wash his hands in the sink. He looked up from the faucets to inspect his own face in the mirror. Dark circles underneath his red-rimmed eyes stood out against his pale skin. The past few days seemed to have aged him years.

"Zim is coming," Gaz said cautiously. Dib opened his mouth as if to object but closed it and nodded slowly before reaching for a towel. Gaz raised her eyebrows. "I got you something," she continued. Now it was Dib's turn to raise his eyebrows. Gaz reached into her purse and pulled out a gun. Dib's hands froze. Gaz handed the pistol to him handle first.

"What is this for?" Dib held the gun like he would hold a live snake.

"Dad left us all his money and his labs, if we were to die, everything would go to the scientists who survived the explosion. Some of them would earn a _lot_ of money." Dib nodded and, after checking the safety was on, put the gun in the side of his pants, where the handle would be hidden by the sides of his jacket.

-

_And through it all_

_The rise and fall_

_The bodies in the streets_

_And when you're gone we want you all to know_

-

The explosion. Gaz didn't know much about it except somebody had gotten a mixture all wrong and now her father was dead.

-

_We'll carry on_

_We'll carry on_

_And though you're dead and gone believe me_

_Your memory will carry on_

_-_

'It's strange,' he thought as he entered the cab, 'everything is backwards nowGaz is the one taking charge, she's the one who set up the funeral.' He lost his composure for a moment thinking about the word. 'She hasn't even touched her Game Slave and it is I who wants to lose myself in something mindless. If I could forget for only a moment...' He looked out the window at the car. 'She even rented an apartment, a small place we could afford if anything were to happen and the money left by our dad ran out.' The gun on his side burned into him as he thought, 'Life is going to be a lot different from now on.'

-

_And in my heart I can't contain it_

_The anthem won't explain it_

_-_

_Time Lapse_

Gaz held back tears as they left the graveyard, clutching Zim's arm for support. He looked uncomfortable in his suit as he guided Gaz to his frowned and said. "I don't see why you humans make such a big deal out of someone dying. On Irk we would just throw the bodies onto a garbage planet."

-

_So paint it black _

_And take it back_

_Let's shout it loud and clear_

_Defiant to the end we hear the call_

-

Gaz pulled away slightly. "That's an awful thing to do."

-

_To carry on _

_We'll carry on_

_And though you're dead and gone believe me_

_Your memory will carry on_

_We'll carry on_

_And though you're broken and defeated_

_Your weary widow marches on_

-

He shrugged. "Once they're dead they're useless."

-

_On and on we carry through the fears_

_Disappointed faces of you peers_

_Take a look at me_

'_Cause I could not care at _

_all_

-

She slipped her arm out of his. "How could you say that? We do this," she waved her arm at the dispersing mourners, " to commemorate all the great things the person did when they were alive! It's a show of respect for the dead!" She was almost shouting by the end of her sentence. People began looking at the couple uncomfortably.

-

_Do or die_

_You'll never make me_

_Because the world_

_Will never take my heart_

_Go and try_

_You'll never break me_

_We want it all _

_We want to play this part_

-

"They're dead now," Zim argued.

-

_I won't explain_

_Or say I'm sorry_

_I'm unashamed _

_I'm gonna show my scar_

_Give a cheer_

_For all the broken_

_Listen here_

_Because it's who we are_

_-_

Gaz stopped walking and he turned to face her. She was shaking as she said, "That is my _father_ you are talking about." She was struggling to keep her voice under control. Zim opened his mouth to speak but Gaz cut him off. " And I don't care if you never had a father, but he was the world to me, even if I never saw him, he was still my father, can you comprehend that?"

-

_I'm just a man_

_I'm not a hero_

_Just a boy_

_Who had to sing this song_

_I'm just a man _

_I'm not a hero_

_I_

_Don't _

_Care!_

-

"No."

-

_We'll carry on_

_We'll carry on_

_And though you're dead and gone believe me_

_Your memory will carry on _

_We'll carry on_

_And though you're broken and defeated_

_Your weary widow marches on_

-

A purple haired woman eyed the arguing couple strangely as she passed and seemed to break the high tension.

Zim turned and said, "Im going home."

Gaz walked in the other direction simply saying, "Fine."

Dib, who had been watching them shook his head.

-

_We'll carry on_

_-_

-

I know what you're thinking. "FINALLY!" :D What has it been, 9 _months_ or so? ... I'm sorry about that, I truly am. You know how it goes, writer's block and everything... Anyway, I hope you haven't all forgotten me!:) I hope you like this chapter, after all, it was 9 months in the making! One last bit of nothing ---- This is a bit of a disclaimer I suppose, that picture that I spoke of in the last chapter was not drawn by me nor drawn for me, I just really liked the picture and decided to base my Gaz off of that one. Also, while we're on the subject of disclaimers, you might have noticed that I haven't done any disclaimers about the story since the first chapter, and that is because this is _fanfiction_, I mean seriously, no one is going to sue me. :D

Now I hope you don't all hate me for having you wait for so long! (~Ducks and prepares for fans throwing things.~)

With love (and fear),

IWasTheTurkey


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